Curriculum

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Overview

The Kyoto University Graduate School of Engineering offers a Master's program and a doctoral program. In line with this system, this department offers the following two post-graduate education programs.

Master's Program

In the Master's program students attend lectures on basic subjects in each field of specialization, and learn how to carry out research through the preparing a Master's thesis. This program is designed for students aiming at a career as a researcher or an advanced technologist.

Doctoral Program

The Integrated Doctoral Program (hereafter "Integrated Program") is designed for students aiming at a career as a researcher at a university, research institute, or company. The program aims to train researchers who are able to explore facts and contribute to the advancement of science, as well as lead research teams and conduct research projects. Two courses are offered: Advanced Engineering, conducted in each department, and Integrated Engineering, conducted at the Advanced Research Institute, which is an organization that spans multiple departments of the Graduate School of Engineering. The Integrated Engineering program consists of several subjects; of these, the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics participates in the Applied Dynamics subject. Each of these courses is offered in 5-year, 4-year, and 3-year formats (referred to as "5-year course", "4-year course", and "3-year course", respectively). Students who sit for and pass entrance exams for the second stage of doctoral programs register for a 3-year course in the Integrated Program.

Educational Policy

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Space is the greatest frontier of the 21st century, and to travel freely in the air is a dream that humans have had for millennia. Aeronautics and astronautics, which is making this dream a reality, is the ultimate engineering discipline that confronts the challenge of conquering the unknown and harsh environments of the atmosphere and space. For this, it requires innovative ideas that bring together leading-edge knowledge of mechanical engineering. The department is engaged in research into the groundbreaking and vital disciplines of aeronautical and astronautical engineering. It also engaged in education, which forms the foundation for the research.

Master's Program: The department places more importance on education for improving basic scientific understanding of aeronautics and astronautics than on technical knowledge. It's goal is to foster researchers and engineers who possess highly-developed conceptual, practical, and creative skills that allow them to freely apply fundamental scientific knowledge spanning the entire range of engineering, and who are able to contribute to and drive advances in various fields of engineering including aeronautics and astronautics.

Advanced Engineering Course: Development in the increasingly advanced and complex technology in cutting-edge engineering today continually requires the integration of existing engineering fields and the creation of new fields. In this course, aspiring researchers and engineers develop a high level of expertise in aeronautics and astronautics, and free and flexible conceptual and practical skills based on a broad scientific perspective, through a deep and broad investigation of a variety of lecture and seminar topics on mechanical engineering subjects.

Integrated Engineering Course (Applied Dynamics)

Researchers and advanced technologists in the fields of mechanical engineering and chemical engineering working in academia and industry need to understand the complex phenomena involving the dynamics of heat, materials, and momentum. They must also be able to design and evaluate the performance of functional materials, mechanical structures, mechanical systems, chemical processes, and energy conversion processes generated through these phenomena, as well as control and manage dynamic and complex phenomena in human-machine interface based on systematic and strategic thinking. These requirements are essential not only for technologists in this field, but also in a number of other engineering fields that support society (e.g., aeronautical, nuclear, materials, environmental, and civil engineering). To cultivate these abilities, education is required in fundamental scientific disciplines such as fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, material dynamics, and control engineering.

World-class academic staff provide not only methodical lectures relating to the four above-mentioned basic scientific fields, but also advanced education through cutting-edge research conducted in cooperation with the Advanced Research Institute and open laboratories. In addition to students in mechanical engineering courses, they also instruct doctoral students in the Integrated Engineering course in the departments of Chemical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering. This helps to foster young researchers and advanced technologists with a balanced education and the ability to understand interdisciplinary and universal problems.

Completion Requirements

Master's Program

Master's degrees are awarded to students who have completed at least two years in a Master's course, received research supervision, earned 30 credits for subjects (including compulsory subjects), and passed the Master's thesis assessment and exams conducted by the Graduate School of Engineering.

Students who demonstrate outstanding performance in research are able to complete their course in as little as one year.

Integrated Program

The integrated program comprises of two stages: one of two-year duration (Master's program) and the other of three-year duration (stage 2, doctoral program). To earn a Master's degree, students in the Integrated Program must spend at least two years in the Master's program, receive research supervision, and earn at least 30 credit points for the subjects determined by the Integrated Program, as well as successfully pass the Master's thesis assessment and exams. To earn a doctoral degree, students in the Stage 2 doctoral program must spend at least three years in the program, receive research supervision, and earn at least 10 credit points for the subjects determined by the Integrated Program, as well as successfully pass the doctoral thesis assessment and exams.

Students who demonstrate outstanding performance are able to earn their Master's and doctoral degrees in a total time of three years.

Course Subjects

The subjects taken by students in the Master's and Integrated Doctoral Programs are categorized as: core, major, minor, seminar, on-the-research training (ORT), joint research internship, and other. In order to fulfill the completion requirements for one of the programs, students must earn a certain number of credit points, as specified for each subject category. For more details, refer to the completion requirements specified for each educational program.

The table below shows the classification of subjects and provides a description of the subjects.

Subject category

Description

Core

Fundamental subjects that form the core of the curriculum. Must be taken to satisfy completion requirements.

Major

Fundamental and applied subjects in fields of specialization that make up the main field of academic specialization. Must be taken to satisfy completion requirements.

Minor

Subjects in the secondary fields of specialization that supplement the main academic curriculum (core, major subjects) in the Integrated Engineering course. These are generally selected from subjects run by different disciplines or departments to those of the student's main academic specialty.

Seminar/ORT

On-the-research training (ORT) subjects are conducted by means of seminars and experimental subjects, as well as research at departments and labs of the Graduate School of Engineering, the Advanced Research Institute, and collaborating research institutes in Japan and overseas.A research thesis (Master's), which is an ORT subject, is a requirement for the completion of a Master's degree, but no credit points are given for it.

Internship

This is a joint research-based internship subject implemented in conjunction by cooperating companies, government institutes, and international institutes, in collaboration with the Graduate School of Engineering. Credits are approved after assessment and in accordance with the period of implementation.

Other

These are subjects that supervising academics consider particularly important, and recommend the student's participation in them. These can include subjects at other graduate schools, other universities, and international seminars. In order to utilize credits earned with any subjects in this category to satisfy completion requirements, the student must follow the regulations set by the fields of the Integrated Engineering course to which they belong, and disciplines and departments of the Advanced Engineering course.

Students taking this course need to compose their own curriculum ("tailor-made curriculum"), obtaining the approval of their supervisor, and then register.

Master's Program

The Master's program of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics implements eight core subjects in cooperation with the mechanical engineering group (this department, the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Science, and the Department of Micro Engineering). The eight core subjects are: "Applied Numerical Methods", "Solid Mechanics, Adv.", "Thermal Science and Engineering", "Introduction to Advanced Fluid Dynamics", "Quantum Condensed Matter Physics", "Design and Manufacturing Engineering", "Dynamic Systems Control Theory", and "Engineering Ethics and Management of Technology". The major subjects consist of lectures closely related to aeronautics and astronautics, such as "Experiments and Exercises in Aeronautics and Astronautics 1 & 2," which allows for individual guidance through small classes and seminars, an aspect that is strongly emphasized in the department's approach to education, as well as "Jet Engine Engineering", "Optimum System Design Engineering", and "Propulsion Engineering", etc. Also included are subjects run by other faculties and graduate schools, relating to meteorology, mathematics, and dynamics.

In the Integrated Engineering course (applied dynamics), the two core subjects are "Applied Dynamics," and "Complex Systems Mechanical Engineering". Major subjects are composed of the core subjects of related departments and minor subjects are made up major subjects of related departments.

Stage 2 Doctoral Program

In the Stage 2 Doctoral Program, many seminar-based classes are provided. In the seminars of the Complex Systems Mechanical Engineering course, doctoral students bring the knowledge they have accumulated in their particular fields of research, and conduct discussions on interdisciplinary research topics in mechanical engineering, and then prepare reports or hold debates in English on the results of discussions.